Don't Regret, Don't Forget
by Shenlong7
Summary: Jason has kidnapped Bruce to have a private talk. Bruce doesn't know it, but this is not just a heart-heart, this is the fight bring Jason home. Can he finally save Jason or is Jason for ever lost to the cold? Rated T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Got'cha!

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or Nightman(Dick Grayson as Batman), Damien Wayne, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, or any other characters in the DC Universe, all rights belong to DC publishing and Time Warner, please support the official release except Batman Inc. I really have to protest against that. I'm sorry but I just have to.

Author's Note: It's been bothering me that ever since Crisis on Inifinite Earths Jason Todd has been getting shafted by DC and then they make him a really cool anti-hero just to ruin it with Batman and Robin. I couldn't help but write this after thinking on one of my favorite characters of the DC Universe. Hopefully DC will do right by him in the future and help bring him back home finally.

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Dick Grayson's POV

I try to think of how far down this poor bastard went before he finally hit solid ground with a sickening splat. From the ledge I'd say six maybe seven stories and he was weighted down by a large object, a small safe that he was probably holding for the person who pushed him down. Typical leader mentality, kill the dogs who do your dirty work and then make off with all the money yourself. He had been tracking the criminals as they made their heist, noting at how professional these goons were despite the fact that previous encounters had said otherwise. Someone had planned this out, the same person who had killed the two when this was all done. In fact, I doubt the two ever knew who they were stealing from or else they would have just as soon walked away from the whole thing.

"What did you steal," I asked to nothing at all, a terrible habit of speaking out loud, something that Bruce never did, but more of a habit of watching too much NCIS. I'd never admit that I was hooked on a tv show because if anyone ever found out it would further cement my reputation as the "wussy-Batman" as Montoya had put it. One of these days I'm going to have to trick her into a terrible assignment for a little revenge on giving him that name. It got worse when Bruce came back as well. "Oracle, I want you to pull the records from the two and try to find any connections to the usual suspects, maybe they did time in Blackgate with a few of the men in Two-Face's crew or if there might be a connection to the Penguin's operations, maybe former Falcone family."

"I'm running a scan right now, Dick," said Babs, knowing that no one else would be hacking into the conversation, she was the only one allowed to use names when addressing them out in the field. Plus it would be confusing calling me Batman now with Bruce back in the picture. "I'm only putting up small time robberies, neither of them have a connection to any of the usual rogues."

"I've just found something, I might need you to analyze a scan," I said as I picked up a piece of material and spread it out only to curse slightly.

"What is it, is the object contaminated," asked Babs, a bit concerned at the sudden use of expletives and the way in which she could have sworn she heard tone used by Bruce once.

"Won't need a scan, but right now check on the status of Jason Haywood," I replied as I looked at the item of cloth in my hand, a green domino mask slightly covered in blood.

"Haywood, isn't that the name of Jason Todd's birth mother?"

"That's the name we had to give him without risking exposure of his identity and ours," said Dick, a bit reluctant at the fact that Jason could easily blow the lid on the whole thing in a psychotic rampage of anger, but Jason had never been that angry. "It didn't seem to improve his mood, but we were risking a lot just giving him the name Jason."

"Well, according to an email one of the Arkham guards sent, Jason Haywood escaped two weeks ago and they've been trying to keep that under wraps," replied Barbara over the transmission. "He kept his head down and was always dismissive and despondent in therapy sessions, at least that's what the report from his psychiatrist says. I've tried to make time to examine him myself, see if maybe he would open up to me more, but I haven't had time with everything that goes on."

"I don't know if he's ready to accept help just yet, he's stubborn as hell and too wrapped up in himself to address his problems," I explained, knowing full well that I'm describing my father and mentor as well. Hell I may even be describing myself, but if I do have some mental issues no one's noticed. "Sometimes wonder if he'll ever be…as close to normal as any of us get. I'd hate to think that one of us could become the very thing we fight against, but I don't know if Jason will ever come back to us."

"Only time will tell, Dick, but right now you need to find out what he was after. Should I send some back up your way?"

"No, I can manage this," I replied as I placed the mask into an evidence bag. Jason had wanted them to know it was him behind the whole plot, which meant that things had only begun. "But you might want to let Bruce know about this."

"Alright, Oracle out."

Another search of the area came up with very little, not even a footprint, smudge, or gunpowder on the ground from where the shell casing landed. Jason must have caught both shells before they hit the ground and I would have to wait for the coroners to determine the caliber and type of gun that was used to kill these two. We could use that information to try and track down a gun seller, possibly one of the contacts that dealt with the League of Shadow, much like a lot of the high grade weaponry that passes through Jason's hands. He's got an arsenal that he could go to war with and he uses it just for that purpose, only he's turning streets into warzones with a dangerous recklessness that could get him or other people kid.

Sometimes I think that's exactly want Jason wants, but I shut out that idea, not wanting to think on it. The police were already on seen, cops looking at me uneasy, wondering if they got the friendly Batman or the one who didn't speak just did what he wanted to. Even taking the mantle of Batman, I knew there were places that Bruce went that I would never dare go. It just wasn't in my nature to be as anti-social as he is or obsessed as he is over Batman. I do take the cowl serious and I know it's a heavy responsibility, but I became Nightwing because we didn't see eye to eye at how we got to the end.

Jason was a different story altogether and I wonder how much Bruce realizes about his former partner and ward. I think I know why he chose Jason, despite the fact the kid didn't have my acrobatic background, despite the fact that he wasn't as obedient or even clean cut as me. Jason was so much like a younger Bruce, right during his early years when he was looking for a purpose in life. Angry most of the time with frequent urges to commit violent attacks on those he thought deserved it, and rebellious to the good advice that was being given to him, instead swimming in his own bitterness.

It must have been hard for Jason to try to be like me, to be the golden boy who tempered Batman's own rage. Jason was far from being me, he couldn't be with the way he grew up, it just wasn't in his nature nor was it something that he could turn off. At night, when the city is quite and my thoughts go to the fallen Robin I think of how uncomfortable it might have been for him to wear that uniform, but to never reach Bruce's expectations.

Bruce blames himself a lot but I could have helped him just as easily as bruce could, maybe even more. A lot of people said that I was a good influence on Bruce, mainly Superman himself, but I always thought that it was also his friendship with Clark that calmed him a bit. That's why I always loved getting a chance to work with Superman, he always seemed to be shining with rays of hope as if he were a beacon of light, a sun to brighten the world. I chose Nightwing after Superman told me about the mythological figure and in many ways, he was like a second mentor to me, an uncle I could rely on.

Perhaps I could have done the same for Jason, made it easier on him, but instead I treated him like an usurper, constantly saying it was a mistake to make him Robin. I had so much support from the rest of the League and the family that my own hostilities transmitted into suspicion towards Jason. All these years, I've never made him feel welcomed once and very rarely I start to admit that to myself. I guess I am as stubborn as Bruce.

I should have been more brotherly to him, like I was with Tim, but I never have been and I sometimes wonder how different it would have been had I accepted him. Despite how I treated Jason back then, I still worried about the kid and I didn't want him to get seriously injured. I never told you this Jason, but I did think of you as a brother, I just…I couldn't let go of being Robin even if I tried to distance myself from the uniform. I'm sorry for not making you feel welcome, for the tears I might not have seen, and I wish I had looked over you like I did Tim.

I looked at the Batmobile knowing the only thing to do now was go back to the cave and examine the evidence, try to find Jason before he got into any trouble. He needed help badly and I was going to make things right between us. We all deserved a happy ending, Bruce and Jason most of all. To see the way he looks at that memorial case sometimes…even with the mask on he looks sad, it's the only thing besides the grave of his parents that makes it hard for him to hide his sorrow. And I had seen how Jason looked at that same case as well, with a sadness and longing. I could only hope for things to turn out well, I could only hope Jason would get better.

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Bruce's POV

"What do you think he has planned," asked Tim as he looked over the notes that were sprawled on the table. Dick had come back and was helping us piece things together, something that hasn't happened since the Riddler went straight.

"He may try attacking us head on, he does know where we are," answered Damien as he looked down at the mug shot of Jason Todd.

"If he was going to he wouldn't announce it," I said as I stroked my temple, my eyes drifting to the same picture. He was smirking, but there wasn't any sense of real enjoyment in his face, he looked more like he might burst out in tears or lash out at something. I try to find something of that boy I once knew in those eyes. "He's getting our attention because he wants something from us. The only question is what?"

"Stephanie and I have checked and he's not in any of his usual haunts," said Tim, the one I used to fear would be just like Jason, but in the end it all worked out as well as it could. I've been studying the progress of the two, trying to see where I had failed with Jason, even though I've been through it before. "There has to be somewhere that's he staying in the city, we just need to find out where the same way we always do."

"It could also be a trap that's he's waiting to spring," warned Dick and I resist the urge to bite my lip knowing that I should have thought of that in the first place. "But I don't know which one of us is his target, if he's being specific."

"Master Wayne, a package arrived for you from a Mr. Haywood," replied Alfred from atop the staircase, the sudden noise waking up the lazy bats.

"Bring it down," I ordered, a sense of urgency filled me as I wanted to see what Jason had sent me. I snatch the package out of Alfred's hands, ignoring the frown that he's giving me, I'll worry about it later.

"You should be careful it might be explosives or anthrax or something warned," Tim as I nearly ripped open the box. Inside was a large notebook complete with a picture of a missile, high military grade with a payload that could level a block. "I think he's made his move, but what's with the notebook? Is he trying to take the Riddler's place?"

"I don't know," I admitted as I picked up the notebook and started to examine it. It was a journal detailing the events in Jason's life since he came back to life, but there was also signs of a pattern that he could pick out. "I think this might be the key to finding him. I'll need every page copied and handed out to everyone here so we can try to solve this."

"Right, Master Bruce, I'll get on it," said Alfred as he took the journal, the look on his face told me that he was contemplating what Jason's motives could be. Alfred had taken care of Jason just as he had taken care of Dick and Tim and him long ago.

It was six hours later, with dawn about to break and most of the family sleeping or off on patrols that I sent them on to deal with threats in the city. This was one threat that I had to take face on, I owed that much to my former partner and son even if I knew this wouldn't end to his salvation. Will you ever be able to come back in from the cold, Jason? Or are you forever lost out there in that abyss that the Joker put you in?

I don't know how much of what I read was true, but I did know that I was sorry for Jason having to go through it all. I could have stopped that madman years ago, I could have saved so many people so much grief. Barbara, Gordon, his two wives and you as well Jason. There are moments when I question my methods, wondering if I had ever done more harm to my city by existing or by being lenient, but I know that deep down inside, this way the only way I could save my city. Everything I've lost…it makes me wonder if I'm ever going to be finished with my mission or will I become another casualty as well. Where the hell is Clark and his cheerful speeches when you need them? That's right, walking across the country to reconnect with the people. There are a lot of days that I envy him.

A fun house should have been so obvious a choice, but I had decided that Jason was too smart to go in that direction because we'd start looking for him. There are times I know I shouldn't feel pride, but right now I just can't help myself and I feel it burning in my chest. Deciphering the code hadn't been easy, but he figured I'd be the only one to do at this time and so I was coming on to his territory alone. Then the strangest thing happened just as I was about to pounce on a group to find out where Jason or the missiles were, the rafters I was standing on gave way. A quick glance at them and I knew they had been sabotaged, Jason had prepared for my arrival and I was about to pay the price for underestimating my young ward.

Despite the bad fall the goons weren't that much trouble, I was able to take them on despite the dislocated shoulder and sprained wrist. I knew more would be coming so I hid myself in the shadows, not letting the next group I was even there as I took them out silently, one by one. Too easy for them all to go down like that when Jason knew I was coming. That's then the park started to exploded, I had to work hard to get the goons out of the tent while other things blew up around me. In the distance I could hear a helicopter going off and I knew that was Jason.

As fast as my legs could take me I chased after the helicopter, thankful that it had not taken off yet. I spotted him with his red hood outfit, the original when he first started terrorizing the criminal underworld. Even with a sprained wrist I could hit him with a batarang and I would have if I didn't feel a sharp pain in the back of my neck. I cursed myself for my lack of hindsight, for the terrible manner in which I executed this entire infiltration, never realizing that I was being lead to the slaughter. A smirking face stood right over be as the white lens of the green domino mask covered whatever look he had in his eye.

"In every sense of the word, gotcha," chuckled Jason as he reached down to lift the immobile Batman onto the helicopter. "That paralyzing toxin will wear off in two days, by which time we'll b nice and isolated for our little chat. We have unfinished business, you and I, and I think it's time we settled it, but I think I'd like to do this far away from the rest of the gang."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: What am I to you?

Disclaimer: Don't own shit.

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Barbara's Point of View

We couldn't believe it had happened when we woke up in the morning. It just seemed unreal, like the horsemen would be riding in on Harley Motorcycles with the legion of Hell's Eskimos. At first we had thought that Alfred was worrying too much when he said that Bruce hadn't returned that night, despite it being noon. I knew Bruce could easily swing by one of his lay-low houses, but Alfred had called each one of them and not a single ring. Okay, that was a little bit worrisome.

I quickly tapped onto the network to see if any of her contacts had any information, like maybe he had been drafted for some black-ops type shit or was chasing some super spy that just got loose, but nothing. Bruce had fallen off the grid and now the shit storm was about to happen. Lots of possibilities went through my head as I thought about what might have happened to him, none of them were any good.

One, he could have been killed and in that case his mask less face would have been all over the news and the police would be breaking down the doors to seize whatever evidence they could get and hold us on suspicion of illegal activities. It would be hell for my father, not only would he look like a fool for not seeing it for so long but he would be dragged over the coals for this, all because she was his daughter. I'd have to call in so many political favors for a cover up as soon as the story broke, but one thing was clear, the boys would all be targets, every last one of them and they would have to go into hiding.

Option two was that Bruce had been kidnapped by someone, maybe Ras Al Ghul to brainwash him, Joker for whatever his sick obsession dictated, probably psychological torture, the same from Scarecrow, and the list went on. There was a moment when Cassandra was nearly raped after taking a nasty fall. A group of thugs working for Two-Face crowded around her trying to tie her up and remove her clothes to rape her, but thankfully she kept them at bay long enough for the most strange arrival. Jason. He had appeared out of nowhere, guns blazing and gunning down every last thug, shooting them in places that would cause them to slowly bleed to death. He delivered her to our doorstep and I was always thankful for that.

Jason was one of those we hated to fight because it was essentially like we fighting our little brother or big brother, even though Tim was less forgiving of Jason. Dick had never forgiven Jason of taking his place as Robin while the boy was alive, but when he died she saw Dick tear up from the regret of not being an older brother, helping the boy find his way and be a Robin in his own right like so many had done for him. There was something about me and Jason, like we connect on a level because we've both had everything we loved taken away from you, our lives destroyed by the same psychopathic son of a bitch.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't understand why Jason had wanted to kill the Joker and I would also be lying if I said that I didn't understand why he wanted to be avenged, why he wanted Batman to finally put that mad man down, once and for all. I wanted it just as much as he did, probably a lot less due to what happened to him, but I can't tell, Jason has been avoiding me for some reason. Whenever I did have a rare moment of time to myself, something that happened a lot rarely now then it ever did, I wal-went to his holding cell in Blackgate only to find that he had got himself committed quickly.

At first I thought that meant that he was finally going to get help for himself, but I soon found it wasn't the case when other inmates started to be severely injured, Crane was almost strangled to death, Tech was stuffed into a small guard's locker for a week with hopes that he wouldn't be found, and Zas had both his arms broken, each attack carried out with brutal efficiency.

I had tried to see him in Arkham, but he was always somewhere else that couldn't be accessed by civilians just before I could catch sight of him, as if he wanted to hide from me and me alone. Maybe it was because he didn't know what to say to me? Dick had often seen Jason while he was in Arkham, each time Dick would get back with a disgusted but sad look on his face, as if torn between seeing him as the criminal Red Hood and the lost little boy Jason Todd.

All the Joker had done to me was to take my legs away from me, along with my feelings of power as Batgirl, and he had kept me alive, plaguing my father constantly. Jason had lost his birth mother and had been beaten to an inch of his life before the Joker finally blew him up along with his mother. All the while that poor women had to watch as the Joker beat her only son who had come to find her. I don't like to think about what happened to Jason or myself, or all the things that Joker had done. When I do I feel that great rage building up inside of me, the same rage that was tearing Jason apart right now.

"Any new developments," asked Tim, the sound of worry in his voiced mirrored by his face. It snapped me out of my grim thoughts that were taking me away from the problem at hand. As bad as it was to neglect him again, Bruce's safety had to come first and then she would look into helping Jason get better.

"No, not yet, I was just letting my mind wonder dangerously," I replied as I started to access the computer and contact the rest of the team, the Outsiders and the Birds. I was thankful that I had gotten them back together, even if there were some sore feelings we all had to overcome. "All my agents are looking for him as well as connections to other organizations who are on the lookout in Gotham and the League of Shadow's territory."

"I've checked all the usual suspects and none of them have him, not even the Joker," said Dick, putting a lot more venom on the Joker's name. Joker had always been the worst of the worst, he even got Dick to nearly kill him, the same way that Jason wanted to, but now the Joker was trying to undermine him as Batman. Somehow he knew that Dick was Nightwing and he often taunted him by calling him that or asking him why he was dressing like Batman. Normally Bruce would deal with that psycho, but he wasn't here now. "And I'm pretty sure the League of Shadows doesn't have him. Damien's getting in touch with his mother to do a final check."

"I journeyed with Ras for a few months, I took some looks into his network so I can do some checking on him," said Tim as he started to pull up his own computer and brought up a connection into the internet, the back alleys of the internet where shadow empires and hackers dwelled, thank god for technology. If he didn't become Batman he could always take over for my duties as the new Oracle, even though I did promised Misfit that she could do that.

_'That girl has so much heart, but she couldn't manage a Dairy Queen_,' I thought with a laugh only to be looked at oddly by everyone else. I'm under too much stress if I just broke my cool with that thought. _"Never doing that again. And i guess Misfit is on the right track now that I think of my...former life, but she's too much of a girl of action to want to be me. I'm stuck in a wheelchair, I'm not jumping across rooftops anytime soon. Not anymore...'_

"I don't like the looks of this, it would have to take someone who could predict his movements and it's not the Joker," said Dick as he accidentally touched the domino mask in the plastic evidence bag. An atom bomb of awareness went off in our heads.

"Jason," we all seemed to gasp simultaneously as the realization dawned on us. Whatever had happened to Bruce, it involved Jason.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to realize it," said a cocky voice that if I didn't know any better, I would have guessed it was the Cheshire Cat, but she knew that voice all too well. None of them would forget the voice of Jason Todd.

"What the hell did you do to him you psychotic little prick," barked Tim, the hostility that he held to Jason since their first introduction had never gone away, especially with their last confrontation. "And where are you?"

"What you think I couldn't find a way to hack into the communications setup you have there," laughed Jason through the speakers of the computer, he was being broadcasted on the same video link the Justice League used to contact Batman. The League had been inactive for some time except for another, less successful League. "I took a look into your systems while no one is looking and found a way to bypass your whole network. Not bad for the rejected Robin, don't you think?"

"That still doesn't answer the question of what you did to Bruce," said Dick in a calm voice, thankful that he could at least provide Bruce's calm anchor for the group. "That man is like a father to you and all of us, why are you doing this?"

"I figured after coming back from the dead, he needs to take it easy for a while," replied Jason. I could hear the taunting tone that he was throwing at Dick and I felt a bit of dread in my stomach as I knew that it sounded somewhat eerily similar to the Joker. "And he hasn't even called me after he came back, didn't even come to see me after he came back, I was beginning to think he wrote me off completely. What kind of father doesn't visit their son when he's locked away against his wishes? What kind of father acts like he cares and then doesn't even pay any attention to his son? I guess you could say I'm just trying to get his attention and sit down and have a little chat with him. Well I couldn't have a true heart-to-heart talk with him if the rest of the gang is hanging around so I decided the only way was to take him back and have a discussion on my terms."

"If you even think about harming him," warned Tim, his fists tightening and shaking with fury. Maybe Tim could use some counseling before he became a bit unhinged. Dick had warned all of us that he was a bit unhinged, but now I could see just how unhinged he was.

"Oh don't tell me you've forgotten the first rule to negotiating with a crazed maniac with a hostage. Never threaten the hostage taker when you don't know what he might do or if he has more hostages than the one you know about. Or did you forget without daddy being there to hold your hand? If I'm giving him back I'll tell you where to find him."

"Jason, please don't take this any farther than it has," said Dick as he secretly motioned for me to start tracking his location. "You need help Jason and this isn't the way you want things to happen."

"No I'm certain that it is the way I want things to happen," said Jason before he looked at me, the first time he had ever acknowledged me at all since he came back from the dead. "Babs, I'm not an amateur and I'm a lot better than most of the guys you've tracked down, trust me when I say, that's not going to do you any good. It's been fun but Bruce should be waiting and I need to talk to him right him now."

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Jason's POV

I cut the communications and ran to the helicopter that I had outside on the tar spot of the building. I was far away from where I had Bruce held, but if the sedative was correct he was holding diamonds with Lucy or whatever the hell she was doing in the sky with diamonds. Never tried LSD, wouldn't know what the effects were nor for any other drug besides the ones they prescribe for pain at Arkham. Bruce told me that each pain was a teacher and warning on what you should avoid using in combat, funny thing though, Talia said the same thing as she whipped me. I wonder if he has a thing for dominatrixes since he had nailed Thalia, his tights shrunk around Wonder Woman, and he was currently giving it to Selina again. I wonder how long that'll last. I still remember seeing that one world where he had married her…and I was apart of the family again.

"No, don't lose sight of the situation, that world is not this world…and I don't know if it will ever be," I said to myself, uncertainty in my words, the same uncertainty I always had. That little voice that belonged to a kid who wanted to follow every word, the one that wanted to be just like Dick even though he made it clear he didn't like me. Fuck him and fuck everyone else, except maybe Babs, she was okay. Actually she was the only one who gave me any support other than Bruce, except she wasn't as demanding as Bruce. She was also another victim of the Joker and just like me, she had lost her place in the world. "But they helped her find one, they allowed her back in with warm and welcoming arms."

I didn't want to think about it anymore as I got on the helicopter and had the pilot fly off. It was a good thing that I had managed to steal so much money from organized crime. A million dollars goes a long way when you know how to invest it right. With the right insider trades and corporate espionage thanks to Thalia, that million had become a small fortune. Nothing like what Bruce or Dick had sitting under their asses, but enough to finance this whole operation and escape, plus a comfortable living. As comfortable as my life can get.

I lit a cigarette, savoring the rush of nicotine into my system, the only comfort I can get for my nerves these days besides the meditation and a good old unleashing of anger on some thugs. Found a couple of rapists two nights ago and had me one hell of a time. I left them alive, though I felt annoyed about doing that. Bruce leaves them alive, Jason kills them, that's how it's always been about us. If he knew he would get his hopes up about me getting better and it might get my own hopes up.

I'm too dirty for him to take back and he doesn't want me back anymore. I know because he told me himself in that damn will of his. Tim thinks he got fucked over when Damien took Robin away from him, finally feeling what it felt like when I found out there was another Robin after me. Shut out of the family, left to rot somewhere, useless too them now. I'm glad for the cigarette, had I tried the flask of whiskey the pilot had I would be raging out into a tirade, may even try to call Tim to get him in on this.

That would be a stupid move because he was so much like Dick, hell Dick even helped trained him and he already found his place. I'm gonna beat the hell out of that bastard for stealing another mantle from me. Red Robin was mine, I came up with it, and no one was supposed to take that from me. They say I had too much anger in me, all the time I was angry, and it's true these days. I've been marinating myself if sour grapes and lemons, waiting to make an acid that'll burn their eyes out just as soon as I get the chance.

_'Calm the fuck down Jason,'_ I tell myself as I take another long draw on the cigarette and look out at the landscape, the explosion of the warehouse I had made sent my message from. A tear slid down my cheek as I remember the explosion of another warehouse a long time ago and wishing that I could see the face of my father one last time. I hate getting these feelings again because it only brings on more anger and don't need any more anger during this talk. _'Now to have the one thing I've been begging to have since your will. A talk, just you and me, so I can tell you just what I think of your will and you in general.'_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: I woke to nothing but coldness

Disclaimer: Batman and all characters associated with the Batman, Justice League, Superman and DC Universe franchises are all owned by DC. Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Please read and review.

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Dick's POV

I cursed when we couldn't find anything that could help us find where Jason had gone or even a trail to follow. The place had only been used for the purpose of this broadcast and all the hacking had been done from this location, probably miles from where he actually kept Bruce, but Hal Jordan and Superman were still checking the surrounding area and cots for Bruce.

It was odd that even Hal Jordan was looking for Bruce since the two did not get along, in fact none of the Green Lanterns except Kyle got along with Bruce. John had personally told Bruce to fuck off, Guy had been cold cocked by Bruce, and Hal had flat out decked Bruce once. Kyle was friends with Tim and Tim stood up for him, plus Kyle was one of the best and brightest of the League, much like his predecessor was before he was possessed by Parallax. There are some days I wished that something was possessing Jason like that, something to explain why he came back like he did. Maybe it was something in the Lazarus Pit or something Thalia had done to him. I'd put nothing past her.

"Nope, my ring hasn't picked up on anything," said Hal, a bit disappointed, another surprise seeing how their past animosity towards each other had never diminished. John had said it was because Hal wasn't buying into the one thing Bruce was selling, fear, and that meant he was not a controllable element. It was very much true, plus unlike Guy Gardner, Hal knew a few moves from hand-to-hand combat training in the Air Force. "I know that he was using a helicopter but it's been too long for me to pick up on any of the smoke vapors or the carbon emissions in the air. This happens to be along the path that helicopters take for a lot of things, he knew that when he planned this entire thing and there are at least fifty different directions he went. Plus we don't know if he took a helicopter in the first place or other transportation. There are snow mobile and tire tracks all around here so that is another possibility that we have to consider."

"Thanks Hal, I know you and Bruce never got along, but it's greatly appreciated," I told him, hoping that maybe they could finally bury a hatchet when this was over. Hell maybe Bruce will turn over a new leaf and actually get a life, but then again he would have to deal with the horsemen and the river of fire. On second thought, Bruce can be as much of an asshole as he can be…maybe a smidge less sometimes. I love Bruce like a father, but to others he could be such a prick sometimes.

"We didn't hate each other constantly, sometimes we even helped each other recognize mistakes," replied Hal as he started to rise in the air. "I've got a few things to take care of in the rest of my sector. Just found a planet with life on it and so I have to observe the life on it and determine if it is or is not planning to attack life on any other planet. Then I've got to make sure none of the other Lantern corps are doing anything they're not supposed to in my sector, so basically I have to make sure Larfleeze, Atrocitus, and Sinestro are not in my sector. I'll continue to look for Bruce when I'm done and when I can and contact you if I find anything. But I know Bruce, the man is like most of us old timers in the League. He hasn't an ounce of quit in him."

"Thanks and it's good to know he isn't completely anti-social," I said as I watched him fly away before turning to Superman. "I know you have a lot to do so why don't you get back to your walk thing before they think you've given up."

"Alright, I'll also be searching for Bruce if I can and Hal's right, Bruce will find a way," he said before flying off to where he stopped.

God what I would give to have his powers, but then again, who didn't think that one day? Funny thing was, the most amazing thing I had ever learned in my life was that Superman wished he had my powers or lacked his own powers. I always thought that was odd that one of the strongest of us all wanted to be just like every other man, not because he hated the burden that the world pushed on his shoulders, but because he wanted to be apart of the world he saved. He was almost the complete opposite of Bruce, Bruce wanted to make himself to be something more than human, Superman wanted to be human. If a movie was made about them it would probably be called World's Finest, but it should rather be called "The Odd Couple."

"Oracle, dead end from here, he kept this place isolated from where he took Bruce," I told her hearing her curse over the line with frustration. Frustration from Jason wasn't something new, we all had felt this before he died. He tried to be a good Robin, but he was as violent as Batman was when he first started out and would often cause unnecessary damage to thugs. He might have pushed one off though he said he just spooked him. I should have given him the benefit of the doubt, Bruce should have given him the benefit of the doubt, but none of us did, few of us gave him a chance. Only Babs did, surprisingly she barely gave Tim a chance only at my insistence and was staunchly against Stephanie when I didn't voice a favor for her. "Try checking any videos or cameras that might have caught sight of the helicopter or anything that went on down here. Did anything come up on the serial number of the laptop?"

"They were stolen from China two years ago," replied Barbara. "I never thought Jason would be clever enough to pull the wall over our eyes like this, but I don't think he took Bruce to China, he might have stolen them years ago for occasions when he needed throw away computers. He's doing a lot to make sure we don't find where he stashed Bruce and Bruce is probably being sedated so we may be able to track him down by finding out what he's using to sedate him."

"That's good he's built immunity to a lot of them," I said, now feeling some hope for being able to see him. "Now that we have a path we can try to find out where he's getting his weapons and sedatives."

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Bruce's POV

My head felt terrible when I finally came to full consciousness, the world seeming like a dim void all blurred together with inanimate objects that were indiscernible from animate objects. I could hear things but it sounded like they were far away, like I was hiding out in the caverns of my mind, and everybody else was outside of the cave, just like I wanted them to. It all started to make more sense as details slipped slowly back into my vision and the sounds became less distant. The room was wooden in frame, possibly a cabin of some sort with very little furniture of distinctive design to tell me where I was. As far as I knew I was still in America, but I could be somewhere in India. My mask was still on and I was still in my suit, though I was having a hard time remembering where I was, picking up on my subconscious memories.

I didn't have to wait long for my answer.

"Oh good you're awake," said a voice, a familiar voice that I should know better than anyone else. It haunted my nightmares and rang in my dreams. "I was hoping I didn't use enough to make you brain dead and I can't have that, you and I need to talk."

"You gonna remove his mask yet," asked one of the thugs, there were two, each one with a red domino mask and black jackets.

"Sure, why don't you try removing it," said Jason as he motioned for the thug to do so. The poor bastard didn't have a chance as he was shocked with enough volts of electricity to down a rhino the instance he touched my mask. 'What about you Bob, you want to try that?"

"No I think we can keep the mask on," said Bob as he picked up the other thug. "You sure you're going to be okay here?"

"I can handle this, get going and don't come back till I call you," said Jason, never bothering to take his eyes off me as he eyed me over, as if trying to decide if he was going to kill me or talk to me. I had never seen him so angry with me, even when he was expressing his anger over the Joker being alive. "Now go."

The thug didn't need to be told twice, I knew that if he had talked back Jason would have shot him in the head just out of sheer frustration. I could see the gun outlined in the holster under his brown leather jacket. After all those years I could remember the little boy who loved his uniform, that old outfit that Dick made, god knows I wished he allowed me to change it. I felt a bit odd allowing him to run around in underwear with bare legs after I found out people had been talking. I still think Dick was playing a joke on me when he wore that, but it was the same outfit he used when he was an acrobat with his family, something that he held dear and I can see why he hated me giving it away. It was personal to him and it was a mistake to give it away. I should never had made him Robin, he would have been better living in an orphanage, but I was selfish and I needed a Robin.

"Jason, you need help," was the first thing I said to him and I was greeted with a kick to the face. It wasn't like his usual blows, the ones where he was angry, but not angry enough to want to really hurt me. Before he wanted to hurt me only a little, but this was all of his hate and rage. It was like the blows he'd give to the Joker. Has he come to hate me that much?

"That the first thing you have to tell me," he asked, knowing that I hated when he added the slang into his speech as Robin. I tried to make him talk with proper English and he did for the most part unless he was angry. "I didn't get a chance to see you when you came back after being gone for so long and that is all you have to say to me? You didn't even come to visit me while I was in Arkham and yet you have the nerve to tell me that! You stubborn, inconsiderate prick!"

"I'm sorry…I haven't been to see you…I had other things on my mind," I replied, hating that I could find no better way to say that, maybe in a way that didn't make me want to throw up as soon as I said it. "I'm sorry there's no better to way to say that, but Jason, look at yourself for a second. Look at what you're doing right now. You're not the Jason I first met, the Jason who became a son to me. You're different than what you used to be."

"Is that what I am to you, a son," he asked, the look on his face was one of confusion, as if he didn't understand where my words were coming from but he leaned closer to me. "You think of me as a son?"

"Jason, every Robin was a son to me, you especially," I said and it was very true. Never had my heart ached more than for Jason. The nightmares that aren't of my parents death are of Jason, what his last moments had been, the same last moments I had been torturing myself over, wondering if he had called out my name. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about your death, how I had failed to save you…how it felt like the end of the world when you died. You are my son and I mourned for you…I know you think I should avenge you…but that is one vow I can never break…even for one of my own."

"Dick might have, after all he did try and kill the Joker, would have to, but yet again you had to save him from the grief," he replied as he started to stand over, stretching the leg as he walked towards the door and sniffed the air a bit. "I'm going to start a bath for you and I'll remove your bondings so you can wash yourself. Don't want my dear 'father' stinking up the place do I and I don't think you're old enough for sponge baths, not that I would want to give you one if you were."

"Jason..," there are a lot of things I wanted to say at this moment and they were all playing out through my head, making me confused on what I want to say. He has to understand, I didn't want to drag him any farther into this mess of my life. I've taken so much from so many others, Dick, Tim, Stephanie, and Barbara, especially Barbara.

"Can't talk right now, there are more important things I have to attend to than you, though you know all about that don't you," he said, not looking over his shoulder at me, giving me the cold shoulder that I often give to others. I realize that this is my son, he's become his father and now I've taken his role. I finally feel what I've done to him.

He walks off to another room in where ever he's taken me, I don't know if it's a compound or a house, but I can hear running water not far. I'm able to get to my feet despite the fact that my arms are tied and my ankles are locked together. With some luck I was able to make it to the hall though I definitely would not call any of what I did stealthy as I had to hop all the way down there only to find Jason reaching in to test the water. He had taken off the jacket with his sleeves rolled up. No matter how angry he was with me he was still checking the water temperature…that he considered that much was something good. He turned around, not surprised to find me there as he started to remove the bindings, not even bothering to remove the gun. For some reason he knew I wasn't going to go for him when this was done, but what did he have under his sleeve.

"Are you that confident in your ability to neutralize me," I asked as he remove the last binding, moving to grab his arm, I had him in a submission hold in a few seconds.

"Please, you think I'm that stupid, but still," he said as he threw me forward so easily, and then twisted my arms in a submission hold of my own. "The sedatives are still in your system enough to make you weak enough to subdue, but when you do get your full mobility back, I've gotten a few bombs in populated and unpopulated areas around the world. Some are small amateur bombs and others can reduce cities to ash, others are napalm bombs. I'm the only one who can disarm them and the only way I'm doing that is for you to convince me. So the one person most dependent on these talks is you."

"Jason, this isn't the way to go about doing this," I said, hoping to reach some sense into him.

"Please, you know I've got problems, you told me that yourself," he replied with a smirk on his face as he got up and walked towards the door, again not bothering to turn around. "This time we're doing things my way and the one who has to be my therapist now is you, but do keep in mind that the fate of thousands or millions depend upon this. Now if you don't mind I'm going to get lunch started because even though you neglect your body, I decided even a prick like you deserved a location, might pull the stick out of your ass."

"I didn't know you were so hospitable," I replied, my own smirk playing on my face and I realized that there was still some signs of Jason, maybe enough to pull out. "You tested the water temperature to make sure it was just right, that seems very kind of you."

"Yeah it does, doesn't it," was all he said before he walked off.

I stepped into the shower, feeling a lot more hopeful than I should have, and I only got burnt. The shower water was turned to scalding hot and it would take a while before it cooled down, time that I doubted Jason would give me. This wasn't going to be easy, it was the exact thing I had tried to avoid. My presence would only exacerbate things, make him on edge and guarded when I was partially the reason he was like this. I could only hope that I had learned enough from Barbara to help. Despite my misgivings, I was going to be Jason's therapist and maybe, if I was lucky, I'd find out where everything went wrong and make it right.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: So Fuck you too

Disclaimer: Batman and all characters associated with the Batman, Justice League, Superman and DC Universe franchises are all owned by DC. Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.

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**Dick's POV**

Unfortunately it had been over sixteen hours since we last saw Bruce and we still weren't able to track down his location or get any clue as to where Jason might be. Jason had gotten good at planning and something told me that his plan had been forming in his head for a long time, maybe even before we dragged him back to Arkham, something in the back of his mind. I remember when I first fought him to get the mantle of Batman, I had written him off as lost because he chose not to get help and then I offered to help him again when I was Batman. The second time he refused I saw something in his eye that I had never seen before, I wonder how long it had been there in his eyes, a tired look, one that you wear when the world takes a dump on you and it hasn't stopped in a long time. I don't know if he had ever been happy for even a second since he had been back or if he had even had a good day in his new life.

There was something in his eyes that told me that he was not even sure of the paths and choices so far, but he couldn't allow himself to turn away from them. Not until something happened, but I don't know what that something was. I doubt if Jason himself knew what that was. All I know is that if we didn't find it soon, there might not be a Jason left for us to bring back.

"No one in the League of Shadows has had dealings with him in the recent months and none of their transactions seem to be related," said Damien as he brought out pictures of different lowlifes on the table. "These guys are your typical any dirty job thugs, now they were all found beaten up at a funn house that used to be a stomping ground of Mad Hatters until Bruce shut it down five years ago. Right now they're being held by the police for questioning, but they seem to have very little information on what they were doing and I doubt they would know where to meet. Jason paid them up front and told them to guard the fun house, but they never knew what they were guarding."

"I doubt we're going to find anything from them directly," I said before picking up the reports of their statements while Tim looked over the other information. I can't help but notice he's not wearing his uniform, he never really got used to being in Jason's old identity, one that Jason forged himself. I offered him Nightwing but he said that was mine and really, if I had a choice, I would have rather have stayed Nightwing than take on Bruce's cowl. "Does anyone know where he found them from?"

"They all have one thing in common, he found them in Washington," said Tim as he had all the files on the thugs in the big screen, each one came from some part of the same state, Washington. "Now there always seems to be someone who deals in these men, someone who picks the guys for the operation. There are exactly three in Washington, but the main one you want to hit up first is a guy by the name of Zeke in Seattle."

"Huntress is near that position, I think I can get her to snag that guy and pump him for information," said Barbara as she started send the message to Huntress. I always loved that she told you things ten seconds before she did when it was a good idea because she knew you were going to tell her to do so.

"Alright then, I think I'll go have a talk with those thugs myself," said Dick as he put on his cowl and walked towards the batmobile before adding over his shoulder, "Damien, I want you to stay here and be ready to move out on my orders."

"Don't be too long, I can't stand being here without knowing where my father is," he replied and I could see that his impatience would be a problem. I can only hope to keep him contained for now. Damien reminds me a lot of Jason, every bit as violent, but with the skills to make it so, much like Jason is now. Too much like Bruce.

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Bruce's POV

He had picked warm clothes, meaning we were somewhere north with a colder climate, but that could be outside of the United States as well. I didn't know if he had moved me out of the country at that point, but I waited for the food to see if it would give me any further clue. It was just what I expected, he had prepared fried rice, something that wouldn't be growing in the climate unless he had taken me to Japan, but that was far into League of Shadows territory. Thalia wouldn't like me being kept like this and would be monitoring the conversation to make sure Jason didn't try anything hasty. The chopsticks were also your common everyday disposable chopsticks except they weren't in their sleeves, instead they were stuck in the rice bowl. He wasn't letting any clues into my line of sight so the only option I had would be to talk him down. This goes past my comfort level, but I can talk to him, he was my son once…it seems so long ago though.

"Aren't you going to sit down," he said as he casually started to eat his rice, his face not displaying any emotion this time. I didn't know if he were calm or if he had learned to hide his rage. "I didn't poison your food. It would make all of this unnecessary if I did and I need you alive."

"What do you expect to gain out of this," I asked as I sat down and took the chopsticks in my hand. I didn't expect him to poison my food, not after all the trouble he had gone through getting me there when he could have killed me back at the fun house. "You know I can't give you any of the help you need. I'm not the right person to tell anyone how to get over problems or to give comfort. Barbara would have been better to call or maybe even talk to Raven, she's good with helping people get over emotional traumas."

He didn't say anything at first, he just stared down at his rice like he was thinking over those options I had just told him before taking another mouthful of rice. This is the first time we've ever had a meal together in just over a decade but it feels like we haven't done it in decades. The whole situation is awkward as an emotionally closed man tries to talk down a lost boy from the ledge that he's been leaning over for years, the same ledge he left the boy on. I remember the smile he had on his face when he first became Robin, a smile I wish I could have seen when he was gone and the only face I could think of was the tired, pained expression he had on his face when he died.

At first I never took much thought into pictures before. They were just pieces of evidence that would help in investigations, noticing the minute details of the crime as I exposed the truth hidden under the seedy façade. I never realize how much pictures could mean until I found a picture that Alfred had taken of Jason's first successful patrol, the smile on his face was captured on a piece of film bringing a sensation I couldn't describe. Like Jason was alive right there for me to see, a moment kept him alive, captured for all time in the photos that Alfred had taken that I had thought of burning to remove evidence. I was so glad I didn't that I was crying in joy as I ran to ask him if he had any, scaring him half to death with my breaking of composure.

A photo album became my greatest addiction and tormentor for the next few months; I'd always look through it before I finally gave into sleep, remembering first Christmases, birthdays that I had neglected, and the rare moments in which we seemed like a family. There weren't that many pictures, barely three pages in a photo album, but they were enough to get me by as I came to a realization that Jason was gone. I still had them in my drawer, but I hadn't told Jason that. I hadn't told him a lot of things I should have told him a long time ago. _I'm sorry Jason, I wish I could have been a better father_,' was all I could think of. And then he spoke.

"You know, Bruce, I did forgive you for not saving me," he said, his voice not showing any sign of emotion, but I knew that he was speaking true. "I blame myself for that, I should have listened to you and not gone off looking for my birth mother. I also don't blame you for not killing the Joker anymore. Took me a while to realize that if you would had done that, he would have won. You almost did kill him…I heard about it all from Superman. That's not what bothers me or the reason I needed to talk to you."

"Then why did you do this," I asked, this time I wasn't speaking as his former mentor, I was speaking as his father…former father.

"You don't get it do you," he said as he looked at me as if I had done something wrong. Maybe I did, but I didn't know what. "Do you remember what you said to me in your will? Do you remember what you had left me or more importantly what you had said to me?"

"I told you I regretted making you Robin," I replied, something that I had regretted ever since his death. "I wanted you to get help, to get better and I knew that I was the reason that you were so troubled."

"That's just it, you told me that you regretted making me Robin," he said, this time I could hear emotion coming into his voice. I could see it flowing into his face and dripping down his body. Sorrow. Anger. "How could you try to get me to come back all these years and just when I'm getting everything right in my head you slam the door right in my fucking face? What kind of father does that to their son?"

"Jason, I failed you as a father. I didn't save you and I broke you Jason. All those years I tried to help you overcome your rage, but I didn't know how to do that. I was selfish back then. I was alone and I needed a Robin by my side. Then you appeared, stealing my tires, and I thought maybe I could help you become something better than that. All I did was lead you to your death and I don't know how to make things right for you."

"Bruce, when you told me you regretted me being Robin, do you know what you were telling me," asked Jason as he leaned over and looked me in the eyes. "Every Robin is like a son to you. Telling me you regretted making me Robin is like telling me you regretted making me your son. Do you understand that? Could you imagine how fucked up you would be if your father told you right before he died that he regretted having you as a son?"

"I did nothing good as your father. I neglected you, I was demanding of you, I wasn't there for you when you needed me most."

"The day I died was the worst day of my existence. The worst part of it all wasn't the beating I felt or the fact that I didn't save my birth mother, the very same one I had been chasing after. It was that my own birth mother had sold me out to the Joker that day. She delivered me on a silver platter to that psycho. Did you know that? She didn't tear up or cry as he beat me, she only cringed at the blows, never begging him to stop or shield me from the blows. The only thing she cared about was her own life. I know mothers aren't supposed to be like that. My real mother, the one who helped raise me before you did, she was everything a mother should be. She allowed me to rest my head, she would teach me how to cook when she was too weak, tell me stories to get my hopes up, shield me from bad men even when they hit her or forced her to give up their body.

"She truly loved me up until those drugs took her life and she will always be my real mother, not that…not the one who gave birth to me. I'm not Jason Haywood, I'm either Jason Todd or Jason Wayne. Even though you neglected me you also tried to do right by me, helping me when you could even though you were strict. I tried everything I could to be Dick, but I failed at it and I knew it disappointed you. Every time I talked back I just wanted you to take notice that I was me and to acknowledge me. But you were still a father to me and that horrible day, Bruce, you were the only person to try and do right by me. Why the hell do you have to regret me being your son? Don't you see that I wanted to be your son? You're all that I have left to keep me straight in this world, the only tie that I have to the best thing that ever happened to me since my mother died."

"Jason…," there is so much I wanted to say to him that moment as I looked at the tears that are forming in his eyes and leaking down his chin. I couldn't say anything then, all the words were catching in my throat and all I could do was sit there, as if I were waiting for something. I should have said something and I knew it right then, but nothing came to me. I was rendered speechless.

"So that's it then," he said, the anger was taking form, but still the sorrow dripped from its edges, threatening to drown his words like his tears. "So is this what I mean to you now. So now I'm nothing to you? Is that it? You know what, fuck you too, Bruce!"

He stormed out of the room into one of the other rooms in the building, leaving me sitting there with the one opponent I couldn't face, my thoughts. And I began to wonder where I had gone wrong, but soon I'm questioning when I got it right.

**

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Bob's POV

I'm beginning to seriously regret ever letting Bill talk me into letting hi tag along on this job. First he pulls a stupid stunt as to try to take Batman's mask off and now he's been playing with another party for profit. This is risky as hell and I'd rather just get the pay I got coming to me or deal with the rest of Batman's team, anything but involve this psycho in the mix. Not like I have much of a choice now, Bill already told him my name and I'm either in or I'm dead. Probably will die anyway, but hell at least I got a chance this way. Bill won't live either way. If he makes it out of this I'll shoot him myself for doing exactly what I told him not to and that's double cross our employer. Few live double crossin' the Red Hood, but I'd sooner do that then get on the bad side of HIM.

"Yeah so they're all up there alone," said Bill as he's talked to our other employer over the phone, the deal broker who told us, or rather Bill, about the new opportunity. Freackin' idiot knew I didn't want a part of this but he couldn't stop running his mouth. "So what do ya want us to do, shoot up the place or…alright I got that. Yeah we can wait here for him, but he'll have our pay right? Okay, yeah call ya if anything knew develops."

"Great now that guys coming down here, I ain't getting involved any further," I said as I tossed down my beer, hoping these words won't come to be my death. If they do I'll make sure Bill goes before me or with me.

"Look you know how I need the money," he said and that's how it always starts with these stupid ideas of his. "We do this job and we don't have to worry about money for a while. I'll do all the work and make sure that he talks mostly to me, you won't need to talk to him at all."

"Better not have to," I warned him as I poured myself another glass of beer. "Involving the fucking Joker, what the hell were you thinking?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Getting harder to see the sun coming through

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Batman, the Batman franchise, or the DC Universe. That is owned by Time Warner. Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger.

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Tim's POV

I feel awkward working with the police so directly like this, usually when I was with Bruce we only talked to Gordon or whoever was in charge at the time, never dealing with the others in the group besides Harvey Bullock and his partner. Used to be his partner was Renee Montoya, but she quit some time after Harvey quit. Or was it when he came back? I don't know, things change and sometimes you can lose the details of things trying to keep up. This moment, for example, is something so radically different from any other moment I've ever faced as Robin or Red Robin. Never would I have thought that the cause of all this trouble was Jason Todd.

When I first decided I wanted to become Robin Jason was always right in front of me as an obstacle, despite the fact that I drew inspiration from him. Hearing about him from Bruce was different from hearing about him from Dick, but there was one clear understanding from both cases. Jason was a sore point for both men. For Bruce he was his greatest failure and the thing that would haunt his nightmares. For Dick, Jason was a lot more complicated because he had represented so many things for Dick, but it seemed that Dick regretted him seeing him as a little brother, like me. The first time I ever saw the Robin suit was the one Jason Todd wore when he died, the one that always hangs in the same place in the batcave. A gravestone surrounded by the trophies of a successful career. It was different for Bruce. I could tell by the way he looked at it sometimes, the way it would become as if all the trophies were never there. That one failure hung over his head like the world on his shoulders.

I decided I would become Robin so I could take that burden off his back, to erase that one failure from the shelves, put to rest the specter that still haunted him. I could never get him to stop being haunted and soon I would come face to face with the legend. It was odd how everything I had heard about him did not prepare me for when the real Jason Todd came calling. When I first met him he was nothing but pure anger needing a direction to be pointed in and someone had fingered me. At first I shrugged it off, life was hard for him coming back to see everything had changed, but soon I began to resent him and not just because he killed. I hated to admit it, but I resented him because he came back from the dead. I was losing everyone I deeply cared about and this taunting little smart ass was able to get a free pass back to life. My relationship with Jason Todd is strained and after he tried to kill me I think we were far past any point for us to come to terms with one another.

Now here I was trying to help Oracle put different facts together so we could track down Jason and no matter what that prick was one step ahead. The worst quality about him is his cockiness and I had no doubt that this was sending him onto an ego trip that he didn't need. The first thing I'm going to do when I get to where ever he's hiding is slap him in his smug prick face. How could he do this to us? We're something of family to him and Bruce was like a father to him? Maybe he's fallen down too far and no one could pull him up now. No matter how much I know it's wrong, I still can't help but hate him for not getting better, if not for his sake then for Bruce's.

"First dealer was a bust," announced Oracle to everyone on the network. Another dead end that they didn't need.

"Maybe we should try tracking down the pilot, see if he knows anything," I suggested as I started to pull up records of pilots near the area of destroyed building and Washington. It was covering a lot of ground, but it was possible this one had connections to a contractor. "Let's see, cross referencing with any of the contractors in the area who might have set this up. I'm pulling up two pads, one of which belongs to one of the contractors on the list. He's currently living in Seattle."

"Sending address to Huntress for pick up," said Oracle as she typed on her computer, emailing the address to the PDA Huntress kept with her. "Good work, Tim. I have to say you're getting better at this."

"Well someone had to take care of information brokering since you were busy with the Birds," I replied, a slight blush on my face at the compliment. I'm not always good at keeping some emotions hidden on my face when I get such a warm reception. "How do you think Bruce is doing?"

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Bruce's POV

I don't know how long I sat there for, but I knew it had been a while just from the fact that my lower body was feeling numb. However long, it was too long to keep Jason with my response and too long to continue that discussion we were having. Looking back I should have seen this problem from the start when I recorded my will, but like always I didn't think of the direct reaction it would have to Jason emotionally. I've been told that I have a problem with taking other people's feelings into account and that has never been more apparent than now. I can hear Jason down the hall punching something; I can only assume a bag, with the most lethal ferocity. Each punch delivering pure uncontrolled rage on the object that his fist connected with.

I finally got up on my feet and walked down the hall to where Jason was blowing off steam. I had never seen him shirtless since after he died so it was a surprise to see what it had become now. It looked as bad as me, maybe worse, scars stretching in a network over his muscular form. There were burn scars on his skin from what I can assume is the blast, while the others may be from debri or if he had received them from his own activities. How many of those had I caused? I didn't know the answer, but I know he knows the answer. He's counted them. At first he doesn't stop what he's doing, instead he picks up the pace until the punching bag has been knocked off its chain.

"Jason, I'm sorry for everything I've ever said to you," I told him as I stepped forward, but he tensed up in warning. "There are a lot of things I should have told you back there and earlier, things that you deserved to hear. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you or that I wasn't there to welcome you back."

"No one was," he said, softly, sadly. "Funny thing was, your name was the first I called out when I woke up trapped in the coffin. I had nothing on me, trapped underground with nothing to claw out except my belt and my bare hands. Made me feel like a child waking up from a bad dream in a dark room and it was storming. I called out to you, hoping that you would hear me and any second you were going to throw open that lid, help me out, and welcome me back to the family. When I realized you weren't coming I started to dig out, ripping out some of my fingernails in the process until I finally hit fresh air. You never forget something like that, digging yourself out of your coffin."

"I didn't know…"

"Do you remember that story you had me read?"

"Rip van Winkle."

"Yeah, I remember that too. I guess you can say that I became him that day, when I woke up to find that everything had changed. There were many things that had changed, all except you, you were still Batman and I hoped I could still be Robin, but then I saw there was a new Robin. For the first time I knew what Dick felt when he saw me in the Robin costume, jumping around in his mantle with a name that he had chosen to use. I felt like a toy that you had replaced because it had become defective and so I wanted to see how much I mattered to you, so I joined with Hush to get a response from you, some sort of remorse for not avenging me like a father, but you didn't feel anything. The only thing you felt about me was regret at ever raising me. Why did you ask me to come back? Was it guilt at the fact that I died or was it that you really missed me?"

"I did really miss you," I told him as I tried to look him in the eye, but he would turn away from me. "You were my son, that will never change. I did feel guilt for your death as well because a father should be there for his son. I was hoping that you would one day accept my offer for help and return to me."

"How the hell do I get help," he asked with a bit of anger as he turned to me. "You buried me without any trace of my former identity because you couldn't allow the secret to get out. How do you think I can get help when I have to keep everything about what we did a secret? My psychiatrist hasn't been able to do jack shit because it was hard explaining the fact that I died and came back to life. Who the hell can help me? There isn't even a therapist for superheroes or vigilantes who keeps things confidential."

"Barbara could help, she has some knowledge in therapy and can help you," I replied as I put my hand on his shoulder. He was shaking terribly, but he didn't pull away. "She's been trying to see you, but you're always gone. I know that isn't a coincidence."

"I can't let her see me like this! The Joker took everything from her, her role as Batgirl, her ability to walk, her sense of power, and her own self respect! Do you think she needs to see how fucked I am in the head to remind her exactly what she was like when she was told she'd never walk again? She's the only one who knows what it's like for it all to be taken away from him, but she had everyone to help her get back in. No she can't see me like this and I can't see her like this or else we'll both be gunning for the Joker. Face it, no one can help me."

"I'll help you," I said as I did the one thing I haven't done in so long, the one thing I've rarely done with anyone. I hugged him. "You don't have to be alone anymore and I will help you find your place in this world. I want you back with us, the rest of the family. I want you to get to know the others, to be welcomed back into the life you lost."

"Why do you want me back," he asked, I could feel his tears on my shoulder, bleeding through the shirt he had given me. He's no longer Red Hood, the infamous vigilante, or Jason Haywood, the violent inmate in Arkham. He was Jason Todd, a sad lost boy who was waiting for his father.

"Because you're my son and that's what fathers do," I told him. I'm reminded of the nightmares I have of that day, the ones where I'm racing to save Jason, but no matter how fast I go and how many shortcuts I find, I'm always late. I'm finally getting there on time. Then it all goes red.

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Huntress POV

Barbara and I had gone through a strained relationship after she decided to break up the Birds after being scolded by Superman, which was right after she tore into us for failing to stop a major disaster. Needless to say that was a very shitty day, but we've managed to get back to that professional relationship we had, even though it has been strained by awkward moments with Dick. Bruce really lucked out with having two ex's at the polar ends of the world and I wouldn't doubt that he had set it up so that they would never be at the same place at the same time. Bruce kind of has those strange abilities to do things like that, so much that it's scary. Kind of makes you laugh at how Batman, the superhero with no power is scarier than Superman, who can throw a building and reduce it to ash before it hit the ground. Of course if you really know a lot, neither is more scarier than Wonder Woman when she gets pissed, and I mean really pissed.

Right now I did have her here or Powergirl or Supergirl or hell anyone with super strength to rip through the eight different large metal vault doors I had to burn my way through with a pin point laser. No matter what you have on your plate, when Oracle calls you up to tell you that Bruce Wayne is missing you hop to it. I just wish I wasn't tracking Deathstroke in Seattle when Oracle decided to give out the calls. By the time I finally broke through the eight vault doors I find a group of ninja guards wielding nightsticks or tanfas. I've never met Jason, but I'm pretty sure I'm kicking his ass as soon as I meet him. I was once told he was my male equivalent, filled with rage and very violent. Maybe that was why Bruce looked out for me despite the fact that I wasn't too thrilled with taking orders.

"Okay really is this the best you can do," I asked as I stepped over another unconscious guard, a tanfa in my hand. A gunshot rang out and something flew by my hair.

"One more step and I'll shoot," he threatened as he kept his .44 revolver trained on me. "This is a very big gun."

"And it's also got a bad recoil with a slower rate of fire than an automatic," I said as I took another step only for him to fire another warning shot two inches from my toes. I took the opportunity to throw the tanfa right at his face, hitting him in the center of his forehead and sending him reeling back.

"You bitch," he hissed as he tried to regain his footing, but found his equilibrium in short supply. I had him slammed against a wall with my elbow cutting into his oxygen supply. I waited for him to show signs of discomfort before I continued with the interrogation.

"I think now your senses have cleared up enough for you to feel how uncomfortable this is," I said, putting a bit more pressure on his throat for good measure. "Now then, I know what you do for a living and I know you've been active recently."

"Shit, you guys weren't supposed to find me," he cursed as he struggled and tried to do what he could to throw me off. I had him by the throat and he wasn't going anywhere.

"I get that a lot so tell me something I don't know, like where you dropped off Batman."

"I can't tell you that. He'll kill me!"

"Red Hood can't do anything to you if he's behind bars," I replied hoping to appeal to some logic, not that it did much when villains could break out of Arkham, but few go for petty vengeance when Batman is looking for them.

"Not him! I know he'd kill me, but he's gonna die! Joker said he-oh shit I'm fucked!"

"What did you just say," I asked, the question coming out as a growl.

"I can't tell you. I've said too much!"

"Listen to me, inside of that very limited, soon to be splattered on the wall brain of yours is information that I need so unless you want to be on the floor bloody and broken for the Joker to come kill you which trust me he will once I tell him how much of a help you were. Right now you're in deep, the only choice you have is whether or not you can run and it depends heavily on what answer I get."

"He's in a house two miles outside of the city," cried the contractor. He was about to break out into tears. "The Joker left for there with a bunch of his guys, about twenty of them thirty minutes ago."

"How long will it take them to get there?"

"They called and told me they were already there two minutes before you showed up!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Every Party Needs a Pooper

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Batman, the Batman franchise, or the DC Universe. That is owned by Time Warner. Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. This ia non-profit fanbased fiction that is not beta'd or proof read do to lazziness. If I made money off of these I'd probably proof read, but since I don'there ya go.

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Jason's POV

When I died I never got to say goodbye to my father one last time, never got to hear one of those lessons that I always rolled my eyes out. I never got to say goodbye to him one last time before he died at the hands of Darkseid. The last goodbye he could ever give me was to tell me everything that I had always known deep down in my heart, that he regretted ever raising me, that I didn't fit in with this perfect family that he had created, and that as far as he was concerned, I was no different from the Joker. I was a puppy having to choose between going to my previous master or the one who had taken me away and now the previous master had just kicked me towards the other. Having a grudge against the dead is a hard thing sometimes, but its worse when you have unfinished words with them. There is just so much anger unresolved and after everything I had ever given him, after everything I had laid down on the line with keeping his city safe, even letting some of that filth wash off on me, I was left without release.

Now there he was, telling me everything I wanted to hear, but I couldn't believe it right then, didn't want to think that it would be as easy as that. Everyone likes to think that everything is a one way road, the only troubles you get go one way. My mind is telling me that I shouldn't give in right away, that I shouldn't forgive him for everything that I've gone through these days, that I wouldn't fall so foolishly into his trap. He didn't want me back in the family, he just wanted to shut me some place in Arkham and pray that I don't get out, just like he did with the Joker. And yet, this is everything I have ever wanted since the moment I remembered who I was. For the first time in what seemed like centuries, an eternity, I felt at peace with myself. I hope he can't feel the tears I shed on his shoulder, on the uniform that I gave him, but I know that I don't want him to know that I've been disarmed.

Maybe I'm just exhausted emotionally after all the years of being without peace, the years of seething in my anger at not being avenged, the years when I fought the urge to return believing that there was no place for me there, and the years I've spent angered at finally coming back to be denied any release. I do have problems, as many problems as Bruce or the Joker has, but I have neither identity to determine who I am. There is hope in my stomach that Bruce will help me find my identity, but I still don't want to trust in those feelings that I know will be the death of me. There is nothing left to do but…beat the shit out of whoever is breaking in.

"That's not Dick and the others," said Bruce as he looked at me. "Do you have a cowl?"

"Yeah it's in the armory," I told him as I pulled open the wall panel on the left revealing a metal door that lead to the armory. "All my weapons are down here."

"Just don't kill anyone," he orders, typical Batman talk.

"Would you also like me to lay a pillow down for them," I asked as I trailed into the armory, about the size of a small bedroom loaded with guns and in one secret corner, a bunch of Batman cowls, some of which I had made for myself.

I picked up the two handguns I used when I had tried to be Batman and also used in my failed career as Red Hood, the superhero. I'd probably be fighting in close quarters so I took the two uzi's that had been trapped there as well as an M4. Most people assume that all assault rifles are only best at mid range and distance shooting, not realizing that modern warfare involves a lot of close quarters fighting so the assault rifles of today are made accordingly. The cameras were set up in some rooms, but the enemy knows which rooms to avoid so I didn't know their numbers, at least for the moment. I knew that someone had betrayed me, but I didn't know which one.

My cell phone alerted me to a text message on the phone, the special ones we bought that patch in to one of the forgotten League of Shadows satellites; give me a few days before I switch to another form of communication to avoid them. I flipped open the phone and saw the text message from Bob, the smartest one of my men, told me everything that I needed to know. There were at least twenty men, nothing too bad. Lead by the Joker…crap.

"Looks like that psychopath found us," I said as handed him his utility belt. "There are twenty men and they're lead by the Joker. One of my men turned traitor so they might have some familiarity with the environment. Maps of the place are on that coffee table near the surveillance feed."

"Jason, you know I can't let you kill him," said Bruce as he looked at me with all seriousness that I had come to expect of him. I find few other superheroes that could draw lines in the sand of what they would or would not allow save for Superman or Wonder Woman. "If you're coming back then you're no longer a killer and so you're no longer going to kill."

"I understand Bruce, but I'm not holding pillows out for them," I replied as I loaded the shotgun attachment to the M4 I had picked up. "These are rock salt shells so before you throw a batarang at me and give them a chance to take shots at me. Just promise me one thing before we do this."

"Anything," said Bruce, the father figure that I had grown up, ready to let me in the bed to make my nightmares go away.

"If you still feel I have to own up to everything I've done…don't lock me up in Arkham again," I said, my voice shaking as the words are shaken out. "I don't think what left of my sanity could stand being sent to there. I'd rather be placed under house arrest in the mansion or the penthouse if I could. I know it sounds like favorable treatment but whatever rehabilitation I could find, I won't find it there."

"I understand," he said and then he left.

"Just be careful…dad," I said to the air, a hesitant grin on my face, as if I was trying to make light of my worries. With the Joker getting the drop on me, I needed some alleviation from my worries. At least I had some cigarettes in my pockets.

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Bruce's POV

I heard his final plea before I was out of earshot and I couldn't help but feel some form of weight off my shoulder as I heard him call me father, something that I really had wanted for a long time. The Joker was out there with plenty of goons and I was sure he was here to try to break me again, just like he always tried. In truth I wonder what he would do if he had broken me, made me just like him, but something tells me it would be the end of the Joker. Or perhaps I'd become the Joker and he would become me. From the moment I had scared him into that vat of chemicals he had become the other side of the coin, the tails to my head, the yin to my yang, the other side that truly defined me and I, in turn, defined him. This conflict has cost us many things, for him it had been the broken bones and the loss of any normalcy that he could have ever achieved. Gordon had lost much in this war, even his daughter had lost nearly everything to the Joker, and all his losses have taken their toll on me.

But Jason had lost something that until four hours ago I didn't think I could return to him even if I were Clark. He had lost all of his innocence, even the innocence that the streets hadn't already taken from him, and it took whatever peace he could hold on to. That monster had used his own mother, the mother who gave birth to him and he had hoped to meet, and he then beat him close to death with a crowbar. Not being satisfied with just that, the Joker killed him just to drive me crazy. I would have killed him if I got my hands on him but he left things as he always did, unfinished.

"Batman's gonna be here soon, spread out and find him," said one of the Joker's men on the porch of the winter home.

They were holding submachine guns, Uzi's, with two men carrying shotguns, ten in totals, and one was about to breach the door. I threw out two sharp edged batarangs so that when they hit the hands of the first three thugs farthest away it cut into their hands. That alerted the leader to my presence but I wasn't about to give them time to react to the first attack. I dropped down on one carrying a shotgun, he was wearing a clown mask with a tear on it, but I could tell by the skin of his neck that he was Caucasian. One of the thugs turned around to fire but I caught his hand and twisted his gun towards the foot of another so that one would take down the other.

Jason was also looking out for my back. He shot low through the door to hit the other shotgun wielding thug with the M4 through the door just as the thug had blow open the lock. The next closes thug burst in guns blazing before Jason took him down with a rock salt shell. It sent the thug down to the ground thrashing on the ground in pain, his howls drowned out by Jason's gunfire on the remaining thugs. I never did like guns; they made cowards able to topple brave men, like the coward who shot my father and mother. The difference between cowards who use guns to cover up for a lack of strength or courage and Jason is that Jason doesn't hide behind the gun. Those thugs were putting distance themselves and Jason, trying to keep moving while blindly firing in his direction to keep him away. Jason however moved like lightning with the thunderclap of a rifle, a short round burst, like a professional soldier. He was not as acrobatic as the other Robins, he was using his movement sparingly while keeping precision. I was taking the shadows as my path, taking out the most precise shooters while they were focusing on Jason.

"Batman, behind you," he shouted to men, giving me warning of the thug who had crept up behind me. I whipped around letting a batarang loose as it hit the thug in the face. I turned around just a gunshot went off, the bang echoing in the air with an ominous.

"Jason," I shout as I run toward him only to have a warning shot hit right in front of my feet.

"Tsk, tsk, Batsy, you know I'm not going to just let the emotional reunion happen, not as long as I was so close to getting the boy on my side," said the familiar voice that haunted my darkest memories, a voice that filled me with great rage and some semblance of pity. I didn't know why I felt pity for him, after everything he had done, he had long ago bled my pity and my patience. "Hell kid what do I have to do for you, gun down every other Robin and Nightman (Joker's name for Dick now that he's Batman) and Batgirl? Though you know, I wouldn't mind paying that little Lolita a visit, might be just as exciting as I the time I visited the last one."

"You…sick fuck," rasped Jason as he spit blood into the Joker's face. Surprisingly enough, the Joker just calmly wiped the blood of his face.

"Now, now, don't get too excited you might just blow a gaske-hey you know what, that would be fun to see. Go on blow up! I want to see if someone's head could really explode and I mean volcano explosion! Hehehehehehehe!"

"Joker this is between me and you," I shouted as I threw a batarang right into his hand, knocking the gun out.

"Actually Batman I didn't come for you this time, I know so sad since you don't visit very often," replied the Joker who feigned sadness as if he could actually be emotionally hurt. "You see, this kid was doing so glorious before, he was doing everything right up until the point where he decided to do this emotional heart to heart talk. I could just tell that you two would rekindle whatever you had, you know don't ask don't tell, and after all the hard work I put in to killing him, well that would just be terrible to have it go down the crapper now. Do you think it was easy beating him with a crowbar? Well…to be honest it was kind of easy, but I got this awful kink in my wrist from the entire experience and I did have to end a current operation that might have…done something, I forget what the hell I was doing at that moment. Oh well, let's not look at the past and instead look at the here and now, besides our boy is bleeding out on us. I mean I didn't hit a vital organ or anything, but I think it would be a good idea to patch up that wound before he passes out."

"I'm good enough to kick your ass," growled Jason as he dove for the Joker.

"Boy you really should know when not to interrupt your parents when they're talking," said the Joker as he kneed the place where Jason was shot. "Oh damn, and I just got these pants back from the dryer. You see I ran into Harley, and let me tell you son, she hasn't lost her edge either. Hell if Ivy can teach a girl those tricks you should be glad that pretty kitty is staying with them or if half of those rumors are true, you might want to tell those Robins of yours to bring their Batgirls down to her place. Hehehehehehe! Of course the first one isn't going to be much good at anything, or maybe she is, I've never banged a paraplegic, maybe I should pay her visits sometime, find out for myself."

"Shut your fucking mouth," growled Jason as he punched the Joker right in the face, I could see teeth flying out of his mouth as he was knocked back by Jason's punch.

Jason didn't give him any time to recover and was all over him, punching and kicking anything he could get to before some of Joker's goons who weren't in the earlier fight jumped in to help their boss. The Joker, for his part, was laughing that sickening laughter as he was beaten and continued as they were dragging him off. I rushed in to help him only for two men to rush me from either side, men who I had thought I'd taken down. If I had been paying attention I might have seen them but in my distracted state I was unable to detect them. They came fast and hard, probably professionals, each hit was made to disarm me. Unfortunately for them, I was tougher than they thought. It was this miscalculation that allowed me to subdue one, who was so surprised that I had not been rendered unconscious by the attack.

I punched the first one in the neck, the best place to attack a person, stunning him as he tried to get his throat to breath normally giving me time enough to pull the other man's legs out of his joints. The one I had punched in the throat recovered faster than I thought and got me in a full nelson. I used the tips of my toes to push the man off balanced, giving me ample chance to slip out of his submission hold and deliver a knockout before he got back up. By the time I was finished with him the other one had gotten up, his leg pushed back into its proper place more or less. He was fast with his fists, but his motions were too stilted and forced him to fight in the same line. As I dodged his fourth punch I twisted his arm behind his back and gave a quick choke that was hard enough to knock him out.

"How could you those men were like family," sobbed the Joker, the typical mocking sob that he put on when he pretended to be hurt, though it was rare that he ever showed any emotional distress. "I think I'm gonna cry…HEHEHEHEHEHEHE HAHAHAHAHAHA."

"Sick maniac," said Jason as he kicked Joker's legs out from under him and started to beat him again, his fists breaking after a few minutes.

"Oh don't get too sad, you can be part of the fun as well," said Joker as he punched Jason in his gunshot wound causing pain to shoot up through his whole body as the Joker pushed him. "You see, little bird, you're mine now, Bats can have the rest of the team save for that Batgirl I shot, I like her. OO I do think I'm developing something of a wheelchair fetish, but what can I say, no control of her legs means she can't no."

"Jason," I shouted as I jumped for him, but the Joker turned around. The gun made a loud crack as light shot out, blinding me, and I could feel pain shoot through my right thigh.

"Nope, not gonna happen today Bats, today I'm getting my Robin," said Joker as he pushed the gun into Jason's cheek. "I mean don't you have enough birds in your cage or are you just collecting them for some type of harem there. I mean I'm not asking if you're not telling, but I notice that you gave them pants or tights instead of those…glittery green panties that you had them wear. Not that there's anything wrong about that, it did make them look like they belong more with Saint Patrick's day in Neverland Ranch, but how come the only girl Robin didn't wear those, years after waiting. She was under age though…ah who gives a shit I'm bat-shit insane! BWa-ha-ha-ha-ha! So how is the older one doing these days, I got him so close to the edge, but I knew he would just be all sad for the rest of his life instead coming over to our side."

"You want to test that," said a deep voice, somewhat in the same raspy, wraith-like voice of Batman, but it was lighter. A batarang sliced through the air and hit the Joker in the hand, knocking the gun out. "And how come you didn't invite me, I was the first Robin to break your teeth."

"Every party needs a pooper that's why we invited you, party pooper," sang the Joker as he moved his fingers in the air as if he were conducting a symphony. "Party poooper!"

"The party is over for you," said Dick as he jumped the Joker.

"Nope, now I think this party's really getting crazy," said the Joker as he squirted his acid flower in Dick's face. Luckily his mask caught it; I don't want to think of what would happen if the mask wasn't there. I'd already seen someone close to me have their life ruined that way.

I was glad that I added acid resistant elements to the cowl, that alone saved Dick's life as he was able to remove his cowl before the acid ate through it. It didn't, however, make him aware of the fact that Joker had pulled a knife out and was getting closer to him. I tried to move, but my thigh was damaged too badly for me to get to him in time so I called his name. By the time Dick would have whipped around it would have been too late, but Jason was there in time, despite the wounds on his body, despite the blood loss, Jason had made it. He got the Joker in the chokehold and twisted the knife from his hand. That was the first submission move I had ever taught him and I couldn't help but feel some feeling of pride. I was so proud of Jason that I didn't notice the grin on the Joker's face, or the detonator that he had slipped from his sleeve into his hand.

Because I was so proud of Jason, I didn't have enough time to warn him about the explosion that blew us all closer to the cliff the house rested on. The cliff was supposed to provide a way of escape or a dumping ground for anything he wanted to get rid of. Now it was a danger to him and everything important to him or I hoped was important to him. Jason was right directly in the blast range so he flew the farthest, right onto the edge of the cliff.

"Jason, wait there, I'm coming for you," I shouted to him, above the snow that had started to pick up, as if the elements themselves were trying to stop me.

"I don't know how much longer I can hold on," he said weakly, the blood loss finally getting to him as his strength flowed away with every second. I couldn't let him fall; I wasn't going to let him fall. I would be on time today; I would save Jason, my Jason.

"Oh no you don't," said the Joker as he grabbed onto me, stopping me from getting to him, like the first time I fought Jason as Red Hood. I fought trying to get him off of me, but the maniac displayed that rare strength that he got sometimes. "If I'm not getting this one then neither are you!"

"You will release my father now," said a cocky, angry voice that could only belong to his son, Damien Wayne.

"Oh, look who it is, birdboy version…oh hell I've lost count, hee-hee!"

"I said release him now," said Damien as he lunged at the Joker, only for the Joker to quickly release his grasp and move out of the way of Damien's attack. Sometimes we all forget how agile the Joker can be and Damien forgets that just because he beat the Joker once does not mean he is to be trifled with.

"Damien get to Jason, I'll deal with the Joker," I ordered as I tried to get to my feat.

"No you get to Jason, you're leg is too injured," replied Damien as he jumped back up to attack the Joker with his bo staff.

"Sorry but I think you should know about the wild card," said Joker as he pulled out another detonator and before anyone could do anything he pushed the button. There was an explosion at the bottom of the cliff, enough to cause the ledge to start to slowly slide into the sea. "Save the lost bird now Bats!"

"Jason," I shouted as I dove to the edge where Jason was barely hanging on. The tip of the clip we were on was slowly sliding down, it would pick up speed any second. I reached out for him. "grab my hand!"

"Bruce…dad, don't do this," he said. There was a pleading look in his eye, one I had not seen for a long time or…ever. "Go with Dick, get Damien and that psychotic bastard. Don't give up your life for me…not while the family still needs you."

"No I can save you now, I can get there in time today," I said, not realizing how delirious I sounded or how desperate I was in trying to reach Jason. "I won't be late again! Never again!"

"You weren't late this time," he said, a smile on his face, one I had not seen since…god I didn't know how long but I knew it had been too long. The same smile he had on his first day as Robin, the smile that was preserved in all those picture albums, the same smile that I had longed to see for so long that the thought of losing it now brought tears to my eyes. "There never were bombs, but I think you already knew that...I just want to talk to you...get some release to everything that keeps me up at night...I never got to tell you this and I wish I had told you this a long time ago. I love you dad. Goodbye."

He let his hands slip from the ledge and he fell right through that snowy hazy into a bottomless mist that tore right through my soul. I shouted his name out into the abyss, as if the mist would open up and Jason would appear out from it or that the waters themselves would shoot up into the air with Jason at the top. Neither happened and instead I kept shouting as loud as I could for something, anything, to bring back my boy, my Jason. I kept shouting even as Dick pulled me away from the cliff and even when my voice gave out, every fiber of being screamed out for Jason. Just like that, he was gone again and I was hoping no one would say anything for a few minutes, maybe a couple of hours. The Joker needed to be shut up and despite all the pity I had left for the man, I was going to enjoy shutting him up a lot more than I should.


	7. Chapter 7

Finale: Funeral for the Red Hood

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or any of the characters of Batman. Also as a minor author's note, I'm starting on a story for Power Girl. There will be a small sample of it for anyone interested in reading my next venture in fiction.

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Bruce's POV

I never thought I would have another Christmas like this, a Christmas of mourning the loss of a son, the failure stinging my insides like a swarm of fiery hornets let loose to torment me for the life I could not save. The first Christmas I had after Jason's death was one of the worst Christmases of my life, rivaling the first Christmas without my parents. This was much worse than that Christmas because I had relearned this pain and at the same time I couldn't help but feel guilty for all the times when I could have helped him but I didn't. The world was less bright than before and it hadn't been as bright in a long time, except for that first time when I shared a Christmas with most of my family. As I sat there in the chair in my study, I thought of that Christmas. Dick was giving out presents to everyone, playing Santa because I was immediately voted ineligible to play Santa. Batman giving out presents was apparently a scary thought. Barbara was over there as well with her father right next to her and Cassandra listening to Tim as he explained to her about Christmas.

Yet even then I couldn't help but think of that empty spot near the fire, the one that Jason always occupied with a good view of the outside city in the distance and the graveyard where his parents' rested ever so gently under the snow. I was thinking about how I wished he was there alongside us, with Dick and him getting along for the first time ever. As I thought about that Christmas and all the wishes I had then I felt the warmth of tears slide down my cheek as I thought of what this Christmas without him would be like. About the things I would miss the most this Christmas, about the things that I had been missing this entire Christmas season.

I miss the star that Jason would always want to place on the tree, the same star that he had always placed on a Christmas tree every Christmas. His mother had kept it, one of the only things that she wouldn't sell for drugs or that Jason wouldn't pawn just to get something to eat. As much as I wished I could place it on the top of the tree, I knew that doing so wouldn't be the same without the person who made the star sign and after so many years I couldn't find it, no matter how much I wished to see it again. I missed the cards that he would make for Christmas, the ones that he kept claiming he was getting to old to make but it was the only time in which I would act like much of a father to him. Maybe if I had done a lot more for him, if I had treated more like Jason instead of a substitute for Dick, he'd still be here. I didn't and now I all I had was to think about everything that I wish I could have done with him that I never did and what I knew he had wanted to do.

"Master Bruce, your friends have arrived to the party," said Alfred, snapping me out of my tearful thoughts that hung over my chamber door, waiting for the crow to chant 'nevermore.'

"I'll be down in a second, Alfred," I assured him as I wiped my eyes a bit and then started to put out the fire that I had started in the study. I had always had Christmas parties at the mansion because all of my colleagues and friends could show up without having to hide from the public eye. "…Is Hal here?"

"Yes, though I must say you should speak to him first, after all it took a lot to get him to come after your last words to him," said Alfred, the scolding tone in his voice was not hard to miss, but then again, when he was scolding you he never tried to be subtle about it. "It took Mr. Clark, Master Dick, and Master Tim to convince him to come after he was assured that he wouldn't have to deal with your, pardon my French, 'shit.'"

"How do I get through these Christmases without him," I asked, my eyes turned to the warm fire that snuggled deeper into the fireplace like a baby in its blanket. "I forgot how painful it is, these gripping reminders that he's not here and all I can think about was how close I was to saving him. I was so close, I thought I was going to finally make it, but it was the same nightmare all over again. The circumstance was different and the distance to me reaching him was different, but the outcome was the same."

"Master Bruce, I thought someone such as you would have more hope," said Alfred as he came to place a reassuring hand on Bruce's shoulder.

"I had finally gotten him back, Alfred. I had finally gotten him to come back to me."

"He's come back from the dead once, Master Bruce, and so have many others, you included. After all, he has your stubbornness."

"Death is more permanent now and I wasn't really dead, just trapped in time," I replied as I put out the fire, snuffing out the bright light as it slept so soundly in its warm space on the burning wood.

"You can't blame yourself for what you can't control," said a warm, friendly voice, one that was full of concern and caring. Clark, you're the best friend anyone could have, even for someone as isolated as me. "Even I can't save everything, despite all I can do. It's something that we all have to accept eventually or you'll run yourself to death trying to. I've done it before and it doesn't change anything, no matter how much you wish it would."

"Thanks Clark, I really appreciate everything that you've done," I said as I turned to greet my friend. Diana was there as well, she was also a bright light in dark times and she was the fiercest fighter in the world. "And you as well, Diana, but I don't think it will be easy for me to heal from this."

"We don't expect you to, Bruce," said Diana, her voice was so powerful and melodic that it moved the hearts of men and women alike. It was amazing to think that she didn't have someone in her life, but her heart may be too big for one person. "You could take time off if you like, we'll support you, but if you need us we will always be there to help you and we'll help you get through this. Now come on out, everyone is worried about you."

"Especially Ms. Kyle, she's getting very impatient," announced Alfred as he opened the door only to reveal a very miffed, but still concerned Selina Kyle.

"You're damn right she's getting impatient," she said, her irritation at my behavior towards her was very evident in her voice, enough to make me flinch. "You haven't even bothered talking to me or telling me that you had been found and were safe. I found out two days after you had gotten back from Diana and Black Canary after they helped me in a bad situation I got into while trying to find information on your location. You'd think oracle would keep me updated but apparently I wasn't told so I don't run off searching for you. Would you like to tell me how that policy got put into place?"

"Past actions told me that you can be more aggressive when you're…looking for me and I didn't think Oracle wouldn't tell you," I replied, feeling like I had just been backed into a corner by my the three in the room. Some friends, but at least they're taking my mind off of Jason, even if just for a second. "As for you not being told, you couldn't be reached and so Diana and Black Canary were sent out to find you. I would have gone but…."

"It's okay Bruce, I'm just glad that you're alive," she said as she put her arms around me, her warm body was nicer than the fire I had put out. I probably would have been better telling her and going to her with my problems, but I wasn't thinking straight. I'm glad she isn't too mad at me, the thought of not spending Christmas with her is…worse than it should be. "I'm not mad at you, I just want you to know that I'm here for you and I want to be here for you. You've been through a lot this past month and I've wanted to be here by your side, but it seemed like you were avoiding me, avoiding all of us. Please Bruce, just come down and see everybody. Your friends are all here to help you through, even the ones you pissed off."

"Thanks, Selina, and I'm sorry for not talking to you sooner," I said to her, looking into her eyes, those lovely green cat eyes that could always seemed to keep some form a mischief in them…save for when she's concerned or sad.

"Hey, Alfred, sorry to tear you away from this tender moment, but Wally and Bart are mowing down the food," said Tim, poking his head in the door a bit sheepishly.

"Sorry we just finished off the escargot," said Bart, poking his head above Tim's. That boy was always getting into trouble and when both he and Wally were at the same table it was like watching piranhas. "Ooh, looks like someone's been on Santa's good list!"

"Down boy," ordered Tim, pushing Bart's face out of the door.

"Hey quit hoggin' the show," cried Bart.

"Well that would be the sign for us to join the party," declared Clark.

There was something good to see all my friends together, all in one place, each one of them coming just to see me and make sure I was okay. It was more than what I deserved for the words and tantrums I threw at them, worse than anything that has ever been used against me. I was surprised that they were there and even more surprised that they all still called me friend, even Hal Jordan. The rest of the Green Lanterns only gave me smiles except for Stewart who nodded at me, not bothering with words because, in all likelihood, he couldn't think of anything to say to me that wasn't "fuck you." I'd deserve it for how I treated Hal and I especially deserved the punch he threw at me.

I was so angry that no one could find Jason, not even Clark and I told him he wouldn't have done this if it was Conner. I questioned his ability to save people, something that no one should ever do to him, not with what he does every day. Not to mention his habit of carrying the world on his shoulder. I cringed at the thought of it and also that Lois Lane said she wanted a word with me sometime during the evening. I had been avoiding her as well, as I'm sure she knew the reason why her husband was a bit depressed for the next three weeks. Clark not enjoying the holidays was like…Jonn without cookies. There are few people who could scold a hole right through me and Lois was definitely one of them, but she was gonna hold back because of what I lost, that much I had going for me.

"Again, I'm sorry for what I said to you, you didn't deserve it," I said to Hal.

"You were…you weren't at your best," he said, assuring me that there was no harm. "When you lose something or someone very dear to you, it hurts like hell and it takes a lot of you with it. Reason also goes along with it. I know that better than anyone else."

"Speaking about people getting what they didn't deserve," said a voice behind me, one that caused me to tense up immediately, like when Alfred gets his scolding tone or Selina gets really angry at something I've done. Lois Lane was a damn good reporter, though as it's always joked, not good enough to figure out that Clark was Superman was wearing glasses. No one ever joked about that around her because she could be really damn intimidating when she really wanted to be. "I believe you've been avoiding that chat with me about some things you might have said to Clark. Is there any reason for the Dark Knight himself to be avoiding the wife of his best friend?"

"I…I know I said terrible things to a great friend of mine," I replied, my head tilted down towards my feet. "And yes, I do deserve whatever slap you're going to give or ear tearing scold I'm about to receive."

"Because it's Christmas and because…I understand your loss," she replied, the glass of wine was still full and from the way her skin wasn't flushed I was guessing she hadn't really put on any fuel for the rage. The less sober she was, the more she could cut into you with words. Darkseid might have been vanquished early had Lois drunkenly scolded him. The thought of it brings a smile to my face and I feel another pain in my gut at the thought that Jason wouldn't be receiving that scold after he asked her how old she was. "Now that doesn't mean you're getting off easy, as soon as you're feeling better you can expect me to beat you back to depression."

"Sorry to steal Bruce from you for a few seconds but I've got a present with his name on it," said Clark as he handed Bruce a small package that was signed from Barbara. I opened it up to find the familiar star ornament that I had longed to see for so long.

"Where's Barbara," I asked as I looked up, there must have been some tears in my eyes because I could feel something warm and wet roll down my cheek.

"I believe she's with Master Dick helping with the placement," replied Alfred, obviously planning to revise and possibly completely rewrite the placement.

"Excuse me," I said as I walked out to the hallway that led to the large dining room, the one that my family used for gatherings. My fingers felt all along the familiar star, remembering how many times I had to place it on the top when Jason had insisted that we get a big tree and got me to help him decorate. The memory struck me dead in my tracks as I felt the feeling of loss, the sorrow that had been circling over my head all these days, swoop down into my heart and robbed of my ability to stand. I was glad that there was a bench nearby for me to sit on and cry those tears that I didn't even know I still had.

Tears are funny like that, not laughing, joyful funny, but the kind of funny that strikes you with a grim irony that robs the sun and torments you, like a mirage in the desert. I had thought they were all gone, that I had cried every last tear that I could possibly cry those first few days, but I was wrong. I was horribly wrong and I found that out sitting on that lonely bench, wishing that Jason Todd would be there, right next to me, and sitting there waiting patiently for Alfred to announce that dinner was ready. I wouldn't get to see that face frowning with impatience as he grumbled that we needed more cooks. He wouldn't be able to insist on carving the turkey or ham. This Christmas he wouldn't pout because he didn't get to carve either and just the thought of not seeing that pout was enough to bring down the damn that held all these tears in.

This would be another Christmas without Jason burying a card in the snow for his mother and then sit silently in the snow as if waiting to hear her voice. This would be another Christmas without me walking out to comfort him in the way that I could before Alfred brought cups of cocoa out for us and Jason would decide he'd like to enjoy it inside. Jason Todd would not ask Clark for a ride in the sleigh that Clark had built for him so long ago; the one I had gotten mad at Clark for making because I thought it would spoil Jason. And Alfred would not talk me into finally letting Jason have his ride while promising to myself that I wouldn't allow it next year. I wouldn't get the chance to refuse to go along with him, I could only regret that I had disappointed him, that I had given up on that chance of being fatherly to him. I could only regret and think that maybe if I had been more of a father to him, if I had made more of an effort he wouldn't have run off, things would have turned out better. And as long as Jason Todd is never there on Christmas, I knew I'd be spending each Christmas crying and wishing for the same second chance which would never come.

A warm hand rested on my shoulder, slender with just a bit of feminine ease to the touch. Selina. I looked up with tears in my eyes, tears that would be on both the face of Batman and the face of Bruce Wayne, both would mourn the loss of their son tonight. This time I'd have Selina to keep me company. Selina would ease my tears and chase away the feelings of loneliness, just a little in ways that could make living these next few days bearable. Losing a second time was harder than anything I've ever faced, but at least I wouldn't face it alone. The look in her eyes said that she'd be there to comfort me through the night and that she'd help me get through this because she loved me and despite how stubbornly I tried to ignore these wea-…feelings, I do love her.

"Come on Bruce, you haven't thanked Barbara yet," she said as she held out her hand for me to take. I wondered if she knew how much she improved things just by being there with me. She helped me walk down to the dining room where Barbara was examining the placements of plates and silverware, actual silverware.

"Barbara," I said, breaking her out of her concentration as she looked at me, a bit annoyed at first, but once she recognized me she smiled comfortingly. "I got your present…thank you. I thought it was lost."

"Yeah, I found it when Alfred, Tim, and I were getting out the decorations," she replied, a bit of a laugh in her voice. The cheerfulness was nice. "I found it sitting alone in a box by itself and I remembered it belonged to Jason. I figured you'd like to have it during this time…something of his to remember him by."

"Thank you, you don't know how much this means to me," I said, every word was so true. It meant a lot to me, as much as the recordings of dad's voice on the old recordings. I heard the doorbell ringing and I knew that Alfred was busy preparing the dinner along with Martha Kent preparing the snacks. They got along quite nicely and it was good for Martha to have some company since her husband's death three years ago. "I'll think I'll get that. It's probably Kate and Renee finally arriving."

"Glad Kate could make it since she doesn't really celebrate Christmas," said Dick as he placed another knife down only for Barbara to wheel over and place it properly. "Still say we should have lit a Menorah for her."

"And remind her more that she's of a different religion than us," asked Barbara in that way that just flaunted that she was smarted than you.

I walked over to the door and opened it, only to find that it was not Kate or Renee. It was a man standing there with a big scarf covering the lower part of his face and large goggles over his eyeballs. I could see that he was raven haired, like all the Robins...like Jason. I felt a hope grow inside of me, even though I shouldn't listen to it, it never ends well. His posture was unlike Jason, he had sort of a limp and his hair was longer than Jason's, almost down to his neck. Plus the young man or teenager, I couldn't tell without hearing his voice or seeing him, had on a festive scarf, something that Jason would rather die than openly wear in public. Still, there was something about him that reminded me a lot of Jason, but I figured it was probably just the memories creeping in. Outside wasn't a good place to be that day, it was one of the coldest nights in Gotham's history and I didn't want him to freeze to death before he explained who he was and what he was doing there.

"Please come in," I said as I allowed him to walk right past. "Here, I'll take your coat for you, if you'd like to stay a while."

"Aren't you worried about me finding out your secret," said the stranger as he started to unwrap his scarf. The voice was definitely muffled by the fabric, but it was familiar, although the voice was fairly weak. "Took a while getting here, but I'm going to have to thank Wilson for giving me that favor."

"Wilson…as in Slade Wilson," I said, taking a defensive stance at the mention of the civilian identity of Deathstroke the Terminator. But when the scarf finally dropped, I paused, stumped by the sight of that face and then the goggles came off. "Jason…?"

"Yeah, don't ask too much into it, I don't feel like talking about that moment in my life,"" replied the teenager…replied…Jason Todd. "Just know that I get to come say…I'm carving the turkey this year dad."

"You're back," I cried as I embraced him, hugged him, crying as I did, happy that he was alive. If this were just a delusion of mine I hope no one snapped me out of it. "Please tell me your back!"

"I'm back dad, I'm real," he replied as he patted my back. It must have been awkward for him to console me as I cried, something that should have been the other way around. It was just like that Christmas I imagined those years ago, with Jason knocking on the door telling me he was back and we could be a family again. This was the Christmas I had dreamed of and it was finally here. I felt like a kid who had finally gotten what he wanted for Christmas.

"Bruce, who's at the door," asked Barbara as she wheeled in with Dick right behind her. "Oh my God, is that Jason?"

"Yeah I can barely believe I'm here too," said Jason as he stood there trapped in my tight embrace. "I want to make this work, but I know I've still got some problems. I…I heard you've studied psychology. Do you mind if I…would it be alright if you were my therapist?"

"I think we can work that out," replied Barbara. "Come on Dick, we've got to set another place on the table."

"Yeah sure, in a second," answered Dick as he walked over to us. At this time I began to compose myself, though I doubted whether that smile or those tears of joy would ever go away. "I just wanted to say something that I should have said years ago, welcome to the family. Also, Tim has the title of Red Robin, but the title of Nightwing is still empty."

"No I tried being Nightwing and it was worse than the first time I tried to fill your shoes," said Jason, who actually had a genuine smile on his face. "I'll have to find my own identity this time, but I'd be really thankful if the family helped me find my way. This time I want to…I want to come back the right way."

"I'm not sure about Tim and Damien, but I'll be happy to help you," said Dick as he held out his hand and Jason shook it, the first time either Robin met on friendly terms.

**

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Jason's POV

"Come on, I'll introduce you to the rest of the guests," said Bruce, the father I had always wanted, the father I had returned to.

"In a minute," I said as I held up the duffel bag I had carried with me on my trip. "I have to do something first and then I'll come join the party."

"Alright, but don't take too long outside," said Bruce and I wanted to ask him how he knew, but then again, he always knew.

I turned and walked out to the same spot outside where I would bury the Christmas cards I'd make for my mother. I'd wait out here, hoping to hear something, just the slightest whisper of her voice, the voice I could still remember or at least I thought I could remember. Eventually Bruce would come out and sit right next to me as we waited there in the snow, probably freezing our butts off for no reason. It was one of those moments we shared that made us father and son. I reached into my duffel bag and pulled out the red mask that I had worn for so long. Just like those Christmas cards before I buried it right in the snow.

"You were a part of me so long that I didn't know how to live without being you," I said as I started to shovel snow on top of the hole I had dug. "Whatever happens now in my life it's because of the road I took and I thank you for being with me on that ride, but this is where we have to part ways. Goodbye, Red Hood, may your slumber never be disturbed."

I finished covering up the mask that had come to define my second life as I readied myself to live the rest of it. The things I had done, the crimes I had committed, I didn't know if I could redeem myself in the eyes of the world, but what I did know was that I was going to keep on moving until I closed my eyes for good. I stepped inside of the place I used to live, the place I had missed for so long that it felt so good to just stand there in the doorway and know that I was going to be a part of it again.

"I'm home."

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Author's note: My first attempt at writing a Batman fiction was unsuccessful and I wasn't too happy with my work. This was the piece I had wanted to write for so long and it was more fun to write than most of my other writings. As to the bombs there was an omitted part that I forgot to write in explaining that it was a bluff on Jason's part, but I hope that because my writing drove me in directions that forgot that part that others wouldn't bring it up. I might make that adjustment as soon as I get up the effort to look for the file. Also, as thanks to everyone who stuck with me and saw this out to the end, I believe it would only be fare to show you what I was doing next. Like I said before this is a Power Girl fan fic because the only stories in that section were Power Puff Girl and I guess I felt I needed to put something in there to show that those are two different comics or shows…super heroine properties.

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Preview

"Okay now that you have pants on you could inform me who or what you are," I said, groaning a bit with frustration as I thought why me. Surely Kara or Diana didn't have to deal with nearly naked men with super strength causing chaos in the worst part of their city.

"Statement: I have no idea of that myself," replied the man with a tone that was almost natural save for the emotionless way he started with statement.

"Where are you from," I asked, now feeling a bit weirded out by the man's manner of speech.

"Answer: I don't know."

"Do you have a name?"

"Answer: I have no name to the best of my knowledge."

"Do you know where you are?"

"Answer: I lack awareness of the exact location of where I am, but I believe New York City."

"Are you alright? Do you need any help?"

"Answer: I have not come to any harm, but I am distressed on a psychological level. Query: Was I correct in the evaluation that I am now currently in New York City?"

"Yes you were correct about that, but why do you ask? Where was the last place you remember being?"

"Answer: I do not have any memories of ever being anywhere else but this New York City and I ask because that's the only thing I knew when I woke up. What happened before I woke up or where my abilities come from I have no idea."

"Why do you talk like that," I asked, finally not being able to bare the weight of the question that hung up in the air above our heads. He looked at me questioningly for a second and then down at his feet with the same expression. "Are you even human?"

"Answer: I do not know," he replied as he shut his eyes hard and then opened them. The distress in his eyes made me question how he hadn't collapsed under the stress he was dealing with at this moment and I started to wonder if I could help him. "As to your other question…I'm…never really thought about it. Those men called me in-human and I'm afraid that they're correct in their assumptions."


	8. Special Announcement

Special Announcement! New Story Coming Out!

Alright I know you are all wondering what this is, I've already done a preview to a story I'm about to do, but that one was a bit of a muse project. This new story that should be coming out soon in the Batman section under Jason Todd, in the t rated section is an idea that I've been marinating in my head for so long, longer than the idea that gave birth to this story. Basically this is an au to Battle for the Cowl where Battle for the Cowl never happened because Bruce gave the mantle to someone who truly needed it, Jason Todd. Prepare for what is hopefully a dramatic tour de force with clashes inside the Batfamily and new editions to the Gotham PD. Will Dick allow Jason to keep the cowl? Will Jason slip into madness? I hope you'll take this journey with me to find out.


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